William Charles Scully - Reminiscences of a South African Pioneer (Esprios Classics)

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REMINISCENCES OF A SOUTH AFRICAN PIONEER

(1st Series Wanderjahre)

by

WILLIAM CHARLES SCULLY

Author of
"By Veldt and Kopje," "Kafir Stories," "The Ridge of the White Waters,"
"Between Sun and Sand," Etc., Etc.

With 16 Illustrations

T. Fisher Unwin
London: Adelphi Terrace
Leipsic: Inselstrasse 20

First published in 1913.
(All rights reserved.)

"Ignoranti quern portum petat, nullus suus ventus est."

SENECA.

To

ELAINE, GERALD, ERNEST, MIRIAM, LILLA, AND BETTY,

THIS RECORD OF

THEIR FATHER'S EARLY WANDERINGS OVER THE

YET-UNVEILED FACE OF SOUTH AFRICA

IS INSCRIBED

FOREWORD

The reminiscences set down in this volume have been published serially in The State of South Africa, in a more or less abridged form, under the title of "Unconventional Reminiscences." They are mainly autobiographical. This has been inevitable; in any narrative based upon personal experience, an attempt to efface oneself would tend to weaken vitality.

Having lived for upwards of forty-five years in South Africa usually in parts remote from those settled areas which have attained a measure of civilization and having been a wide wanderer in my early days, it has been my fortune to witness many interesting events and to be brought into contact with many strong men. Occasionally, as in the case of the earlier discoveries of gold and diamonds, I have drifted, a pipkin among pots, close to the centre around which the immediate interests of the country seemed to revolve.

The period mainly dealt with is that magical one when South Africa unnoted and obscure was startled from the simplicity of her bucolic life by the discovery of gold and diamonds. This was, of course, some years before the fountains of her boundless potential wealth had become fully unsealed. I was one of that band of light-hearted, haphazard pioneers who, rejoicing in youthful energy and careless of their own interests, unwittingly laid the foundation upon which so many great fortunes have been built.

An ancient myth relates how the god Dionysus decreed that everything touched by Midas, the Phrygian king, should turn into gold, but the effect was so disastrous that Midas begged for a reversal of the decree. The prayer was granted, conditionally upon the afflicted king bathing in the River Pactolus.

South Africa may, in a sense, be paralleled with Midas both as regards the bane of gold and the antidote of bathing but her Pactolus has been one of blood.

Midas again got into trouble by, refusing to adjudge in the matter of musical merit between Pan and Apollo, and this time was punished by having his ears changed into those of an ass.

Our choice lies before us; may we avoid the ass's ears by boldly making a decision. May we evade a worse thing by unhesitatingly giving our award in favor of Apollo.

With this apologia I submit my humble gleanings from fields on which no more the sun will shine, to the indulgent sympathy of readers.

W. C. S.

PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA, January, 1913.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

ForewordMy father's family"Old Body"DuallaA cruel experiment"Old
Body"and the gooseCook and kitchen-maidScull and monkeyMy mother's
familyAbbey viewThe Bock of CashelCaptain Meagher and early chess
Sir Dominic Corrigan"Old Mary" and the sugarNaval ambitionsHarper
Twelvetree and the burial agency

CHAPTER II

Improved healthJimmy KinsellaVeld foodI abscondFather Healy on conversionFather O'Dwyer and his whipConfessionConstruction of a volcanoThe Fenian outbreakDeparture for South AfricaThe tuneful soldierChess at seaMadeira A galeThe Asia

CHAPTER III

Arrival at Cape TownPort ElizabethFirst encounter with big game GrahamstownSevere thunderstormKing William's Town Natives and their poniesSocial peculiaritiesFarmingThe annual trekCamp-life Surf-bathingSelf-sacrificing attitude of Larry O'TooleCapture of an ant-bearThe coast sceneryA moral shockSchool Chief ToiseRainy seasonsFlooded rivers

CHAPTER IV

Trip to the TranskeiTiyo Soga and his familyTrip to the seasideThe FynnsWild dogsStart as a sheep farmerMy camp burnt outFirst commercial adventureChief SandileDiscovery of diamondsStart for GolcondaTraveling companionsManslaughter narrowly escapedOld De BeersLife at the Diamond FieldsScarcity of waterFirst case of diamond stealingI nearly discover Kimberley MineThe rush to Colesberg KopjeMy first diamondIts loss and my humiliationKimberley claims dear at 10Camp-life in early daysI. D. B.Canteen burning.

CHAPTER V

My claim a disappointmentGood results attained elsewhereA surprised
Boer"Kopje wallopers"ThunderstormsA shocking spectacle"Old Moore"
and his love affairThe morning marketAttack of entericI go to King
William's Town to recruit Toby once moreA venture in onionsReturn to
KimberleyThe West End messThe Rhodes brothersNorman GarstinH. C.
Seppings Wright"Schipka" CampbellCecil John RhodesA game of euchre
The church bellRaw nativesAlum diamondsHerbert Rhodes and the cannon
His terrible end.

CHAPTER VI

Big gamblingVon SchlichmannNorman GarstinThe painter of St. Michael's MountStart for the gold fields"I am going to be hanged" Plentifulness of gameSnakes in an anthillNazarethGame in the High VeldNarrow escape from frost-biteA shooting matchLydenburgPainful tramping"Artful Joe"Penalty for suicidePilgrim's RestExperiences of "a new chum"Tent-makingExplorationsThe Great PlateauProspect of the Low CountryElands.

CHAPTER VII

Extended ramblesView from the mountain topAn unknown landThe deadly feverGray's fateLack of nursingTemperature rises after death Pilgrim's Rest in early daysThe prisonThe stocksNo color lineJohn Cameron in troubleThe creek "lead"Plenty of goldWild peaches Massacres of natives in old daysKameelHis expressionsLife on the creekMajor MacdonaldThe parsonBouldersBad accidentsA quaint signboard"Reefing Charlie".

CHAPTER VIII

Work on "the Reef"Shaft-sinking in a swampWolff and McGrathA case of snake-biteTunnelingHumping green timberJohn MulcahyHis Gargantuan breakfastHis peculiar habitsHis endThe rush to "the Reef" Cunningham's leadMy bad luckPeter and his appetite"Mr. William Bogis" Fabayne, the cave-dwellerA bellicose bridegroomKnox and his revolver practiceA senseless toast and its sequelA terrible accident Alick Dempster and the Police News.

CHAPTER IX

Expedition to Delagoa BayA rencontre at ConstantinopleMorisot and the lionGame in the Low CountryThe Barber encampmentLion's attack by daylightLions in the dongaThe lion's voiceWays of the lionThe lion an eater of carrionTyrer and the buffaloVeld firesA piece of bad luckThe Low Country riversSnakesHyenasLouren MarquesFuneral of Pat FooteDiscovery of gold near Blyde RiverAnticipated affluence Disappointment

CHAPTER X

Prospectors start for SwazilandRumors as to their fateMacLean and I decide to follow themPrecautions against lionsThe Crocodile RiverThe Boer and the pessimistGame and honeyCrocodilesDifficulties in crossing the riverMacLean nearly drowned in the rapidsI go on alone First sight of De KaapA labyrinth of dongasI reach SwazilandBaboons On the trail of the prospectorsThe mystery solved'Ntshindeen's Kraal Swazi hospitalityHow I became celebratedA popular showRepairing guns Character of the SwazisContempt for money and love of saltProspecting My welcome outstayedA dangerous crisisReturn to the Crocodile River The rhinocerosOur bearers decampWe abandon our goodsAttacked by feverTerror of partridgesArrival at Mac Mac.

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